Creatine Dose - is 5g enough?
From the first blog, we know what Creatine is, what it does, and who it helps. We also dispelled some misconceptions about it too.
We also touched briefly on how much you need, and this is what I want to explore a little further in this blog too.
There’s something else I want to look at too, which is about understanding what you’re taking and why. This actually came up in a conversation with someone from the gym and I think it’s really important.
Some New Research
You might have seen this cropping up all over the internet recently, but there’s been a recent study in Germany (2024) which delivered some quite interesting results around creatine.
What this research stated is that your standard 3 - 5g, whilst effective, may not be enough if you want to unlock the other potential benefits of creatine.
Creatine, as we looked at before, can help with:
Increase strength and power — more reps, heavier lifts, faster sprints.
Speed up recovery between sets and sessions.
Support muscle growth by improving training output over time.
Boost brain performance and reduce fatigue, especially under stress or lack of sleep.
Help with hydration at the cellular level (it pulls water into your muscles, not under your skin).
These are all great, but the research indicates that 5g does not do all that. In fact, if you take your daily 5gs of creatine, your muscles will hoover it up leaving not much for the other stuff which includes brain function and performance.
So How Much?
This may not come as a surprise, but you have to find what level suits you but there are key factors in helping you make the right decision:
Body composition differences — larger athletes may need proportionally more creatine per kilogram of lean mass.
Training volume and frequency — heavy, high-volume, or double-session training increases creatine turnover.
Dietary habits — people eating little or no red meat or fish may start from a lower baseline.
Cognitive and recovery benefits — some brain-related studies show optimal benefits at slightly higher doses (6–8g daily).
The question now is: how much creatine does it actually take to fully saturate your muscles and keep them there?
Here’s a simple guide to help you find your range:
Light training / <60kg 4–6g daily
Regular training / 60–80kg 6–8g daily
Heavy training / 80kg+ 8–10g daily
Vegetarian / Vegan +1–2g extra daily
Now, you could try to experiment a little with your levels here and see what works best for you. Do you notice a difference in performance, both physically and mentally? There is also no need to take this all in one go either. Just be consistent with it.
I cannot emphasise enough here too that creatine should form part of a balanced diet that pritotises protein, carbohydrates and fats from unprocessed sources. Creatine is a supplement. Treat it as such.
There is no need to “load” creatine - that means take a higher dose initially. It’s ok to keep to a lower dose and maintain the levels of creatine.
What should I be taking?
This is where things get really interesting for me as a Nutrition Coach.
I had a conversation recently with someone from my gym who said that creatine made them feel unwell.
Now, this can happen, but it is unusual. So we dug a little deeper in terms of how they were taking creatine, when, what with and so on. To get an idea of the routine. Alarm bells rang when the said the suggested dose was 5 scoops per day at a total of 20gs.
As you’ll know, most suggested disease of creatine is between 3 and 5g per day, so this was unusual. Fortunately, they sent me a photo of what they were taking. It contained, amongst other things, beta alanine, taurine and sweeteners in something called Creatine Extreme.
This is where it’s absolutely vital to understand what you are taking. Now you can take that stuff, but you must understand what it does and what it’s for and whether or not that supports your goals.
If you have an eye on any sort of competition too, you should also make sure it’s Informed Sport Batch Tested. You don’t want to run the risk of any bans now do you?!
Creatine Monohydrate remains the gold standard.
You don’t need fancy blends or versions.
Just unflavoured, 100% pure creatine.
A Note on Water and Hydration
Creatine helps draw water into your muscle cells, improving hydration and performance.
This doesn’t make you “bloated” — it’s literally part of how creatine works.
Just make sure you’re drinking enough water daily, especially if training hard or in hot conditions.
A good rule of thumb:
At least 2.5–3L water per day, more if you’re sweating heavily.
Beyond the Gym
What’s exciting about the new research is that creatine isn’t just about muscle.
Higher daily intakes (6–8g) have been linked to:
Improved mental performance under stress
Reduced fatigue during sleep deprivation
Potential support for neurological health and aging
In other words — creatine isn’t just a gym supplement; it’s a performance and brain health tool.
The Simple Powerful Summary
Here’s what matters:
Take creatine monohydrate
Aim for 6–8g daily if you train regularly
Take it consistently, not just on training days
Stay hydrated
No loading phase needed
That’s it. Simple, powerful, and effective.
Coming Next
Next up we’ll look at how to fit it into your nutrition routine and use it to improve your performance both physically and mentally.